Cavern of Remembrance
by Arcana-Key
Summary: In order to understand the present, one must look towards the past. [ OC-Centric ]
1. Cavern of Remembrance

**Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square-Enix. **

**The only thing I own is Suihei - Noxic is property of Arti-Collie, and Nyx Noir is property of Oblivion363**

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There had never been a time that she'd enjoyed traversing the depths of Radiant Garden. Not because she was afraid of traveling alone, because she had done that more than a handful of times, but because it had never been in her personal interest to see the World that had been wreathed in Darkness a year before up close and personal. But, the Castle was a place that enraptured her – captivated her, even. A place where so many things had happened, so many great, pivotal changes in her life had occurred towards the end of her first journey, that she couldn't help but follow rumours on the veritable treasure trove of information awaiting her.

Lighting had told her that long ago, experiments were said to be carried out in the depths of their Halls, and these experiments – dangerous as they were, had resulted in the second influx of Darkness that had threatened the Worlds years before they were born. Suihei liked to believe that since this place had been the birth of Darkness, then perhaps she would find what she sought the most.

Information.

Soulless were a peculiar breed. She recalled. Born of Hearts blinded by Light, their minds had been burned away by near religious zealotry. A dangerous thing if there ever was one. At the head of the Soulless was a mysterious organization called 'The Order of Light', creatures that** excelled **where the more monstrous Soulless beneath their command. Governed by their mindless conviction, they had begun an insidious plot to crystalize the Worlds during the time that she had been slumbering.

The Light was just as dangerous as the Dark.

It was a troubling turn of events, something that she hadn't been expected to be thrust into following her one year sleep, but she had never been the sort to complain. Once Lightning had let it slip, rather intentionally, that there was something beneath the depilated castle, Suihei knew she couldn't let this opportunity slip between her fingers.

So, earlier that morning, she had packed a bag, making sure to stock up on potions, ethers and elixirs on the chance that she was attacked by an errant Heartless or Soulless on her journey from the city towards the Castle. While it had taken some time to trek there, she had made short work of it by weaving through a few shortcuts with well-placed use of her abilities.

'Such a pain…' She thought to herself, keeping an eye out for any tell-tale flashes of black and purple or silver and gold just in case one of her less than favored 'friends' decided to pay her a visit.

As soon as the thought finished crossing her mind, Suihei had landed in a crouch courtesy of, well, a wall that had offered support for her quick motions. Agility was useful when gliding was still out of her reach, and she had to thank her parents for forcing her into gymnastics when she was younger, otherwise she would've long since been winded. Apparently her little trail had taken her through an underground cavern, probably the interior of the mountain the castle was built on.

"What a weird place…"

How astute of her to observe. Cavernous walls quickly gave way to a pristine columns that jutted up from between the floors. Emblazoned with a fleur de lis, and the roar of water in the distance told her that she was near a source of it—from her memory of exploring the Castle a year before, Suihei vaguely recalled that there was, in fact, a back entrance filled with magically enchanted ice, as well as rapid waterfalls beneath the depths.

The white was disorienting, almost blinding in a way that had the brunette shielding her eyes as she forced herself onwards. Oddly enough, no traps awaited her- maybe, just maybe, she'd been watching too many horror movies. She'd expected **something** waiting for her- but it was completely barren of life. Even if she was aware that this was – several thousand years old, it didn't stop paranoia from stirring in her heart. She was quick to suppress it, however, eager to continue on to her goal.

As she continued her stride uninhibited, she eventually found herself passing through the seemingly endless hall and found herself on a platform. Thirteen columns jutted out of the ground, and the roar of a waterfall proved her theory correct. A quick glance down, and Suihei saw that the water circled the platform, though it was discretely filtered through grates to maintain a constant level of water. Her eyes flicked forward once more, and as she stepped forward in curiosity, the dull rumble of age old cogs clicking and grinding against one another immediately caught her attention.

Generations. It'd been generations since anyone had stepped foot in here, and though she didn't know this, she could hear the **strain **of metal against metal. From the center of the platform where she stood, a computer terminal slowly rose from the ground. As she had enough time to get out of the way of it, a minute later had Suihei standing in front of a computer terminal.

While incredibly outdated in comparison to the transparent screens she was accustomed to, the computer still looked fresh. Clean. As if it had taken strides to keep itself in pristine condition, despite not being accessed for eons.

"This is definitely . . ."

Weird. It was weird. And she didn't like it. More than anything else, it made her feel unsettled, but if this is the trove of information she was looking for, then she'd take what she could. Suihei was almost disinclined to even continue – sorely tempted to turn around, if only because it felt like a wild goose chase.

The screen flickered a few times, drawing her attention once again.

'Enter username and password'. If that wasn't a pain in the butt, she didn't know **what** was.

Oh, why not? It wouldn't hurt to try, and she had no idea what she was getting herself into in the first place. At first, she thought she could do this a bit more – but a few minutes later, and even that became a monumental task. She tried everything she knew under the book 'sea-salt icecream', 'gummiblocks', and, in one childish twist, 'twilight town', but all she got in return was a blinking error message. Unable to bury the frustration that was building up in her chest, Suihei's fists bashed the keyboard. A brittle _crack _signified that she'd more than likely broken a piece of the delicate technology.

What a hunk of jun-

Her train of thought was interrupted by the dull hum of electricity saturating the air. Suihei's hazel eyes narrowed in apprehension, and as a precaution, she backed away from the computer terminal. Once again, the sound of age old gears groaning rattled through the air. Dust dotted the air for but a moment, before thirteen gates rose from slots in the floor surrounding her.

Well, one of these had to lead to _somewhere._

The only question was, _where._

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**I've decided after a lot of thought, that since Destati won't be a fanfiction of any sort, I'll be uploading whatever comes to mind individually - here, we have what would've come at the climax of Act II - exploring Radiant Garden in order to find information on a new Enemy. Of course, she'll have to work through every single one - the following chapters are _two _short previews of what could've been - peppered with a variety of snippets instead of - clear concise storytelling that I actually should be doing. **


	2. The 13th Dilemma

**Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square-Enix.**

**The only thing I own is Suihei - Noxic is property of Arti-Collie, and Nyx Noir is property of Oblivion363**

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**VIII**  
_The Flurry of Dancing Flames_

She hated those doors. She really. Really really hated those doors.

The scent of ash and fire was the first thing that brought Suihei's mind from the depths of thoughtfulness that it had resigned itself to. Metal whistled through the air, embers were quick to follow – was she in Hell? The circle of flames surrounding her like a bonfire almost made her want to say 'yes', but it was a brief, if not fleeting thought. Computer program- right, right.

"**BURN!**" Gouts of flame spiraled from the walls. The floor grew hotter beneath her feet, yet this didn't stop Suihei from attempting to get out of the way of the geysers hurtled her way by way of a flash step. Barely avoiding it by a margin, she attempted to flick the chakrams thrown her way next by batting them out of the way with her keyblade. She managed the first, but the second returned to the waiting hand of the red-headed man that leapt from the fire with a cocksure grin.

"Don't worry, I'll make it all stop."

Oh, this kid was good- whoever she was, but she definitely wasn't anything too impressive, in the long run. The way that she glared at him, even as she tried her best to avoid the flame-tipped edges of hisr chakram, was familiar in a way- it tugged at the data embedded in him for a second, but just as fast, it was discarded as unimportant. Smoke coiled from beneath his cuffs, before darting out to blind Suihei. Axel then followed it up by conjuring both of his chakram, hurtling them forward like two deadly pinwheels that cut into Suihei's flesh and sent her hurtling towards the wall of flames-

He didn't expect her to right her posture at the last second- nor did he **quite** expect her to leap off the fiery constructs to engage him with all the ferocity of a woman scorned. Slashes were deflected, lunges were danced around, and stabs were redirected until Axel noticed just **what** the kid was doing. By the time he did notice, however, both began a constant game of leaping forward and away along the walls of fire.

Eventually, Suihei did get the blow that she was looking for and with a victorious grin, she hammered down with as much force that her keyblade could offer with two hands. Axel hurtled towards the epicenter of the molten floor, his guard broken from the sheer force of the blow. With a breathless gasp, he blocked her descending blow with his chakram, but—

That did nothing to stop the light that purged the floor from the magma that made the playing field uneven. Suihei's grin widened further, an action that Axel mirrored, even as he melted into the floor and returned to his feet seconds later.

"Now this!" He said, a chakram spinning above his hand with such intense heat and light that Suihei had to cover her eyes with a hand. "Is more like it!"

* * *

**IX**

_A Melodious Nocturne_

If Noxic had to leave a critique on the Ninth Reflection, it would be . . . "Who th'hell is this wuss, Sui?" And it was an apt description. Though the simulation that they had been tossed into proved unfamiliar in its layout, Noxic could see that there was a bare resemblance to the Hollow Bastion that they were familiar with, once he got a good enough look. Normally he wouldn't be so shrewd ( okay, he **would** ), but the fact that this guy had led them through a wild goose chase was frazzlin his fur something fierce!

With a frustrated sigh, Suihei came running right on his heels – keyblade hoisted over her shoulder, just as the Duelscythe was resting over his. Nyx had taken the option of scouting somewhat ahead for any imminent dangers, leaving the Dark Lagomorph and Human by themselves. Noxic leaned against the shattered pillar to his left, and Suihei settled on the one to his right.

When a corridor of Darkness opened up in front of them, both looked up to see if it was Nyx- Noxic was tempted to say something witty if it was, but much to his disappointment, it was the hooded figure, now unhooded- that had strung them around the entire time. A fierce grin broke on the rabbit's features, even as he stood to his feet and twirled the twin-edged scythe around him. Oh yeah, this'd be good.

Demyx gave a cheeky half-grin in return. "Dance water, dance!" Whatever Noxic and Suihei were going to say was immediately cut off by the sound of strings plucking, and water twirling to life around them with the force of a geyser. Gouts of water tore into the earth around them. Separating both of them with enough concussive force and heat to flay skin from bone.

"Now, what was this about a wuss? C'mon, I just want to show you guys a showstopper!"

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**X**  
_The Gambler of Fate_

The tenth reflection was a peculiar sort. One of games and mischief. Unlike many that she had met thus far, he seemed far more interested in trying her patience.

"It seems that even the mechanizations of the realms extend to the furthest tomorrow." It was interesting. To see that man, no matter how far along they were, would never change. It was in their nature. He was just data. Bits and pieces left behind in order to observe and analyze those who wished to seek the chamber of repose. In a way, it shouldn't have mattered to him, and it didn't. But he supposed that if he had a heart. . .

"To see that Man's hearts still bleed with avarice and greed, even to this day." Luxord's laughter was sardonic. Mocking in a way that caused Suihei's fingers to dig into Noxic's shoulder. No need to break into a fight yet. Not yet. Noxic's impatience was legendary, after all, and if she had her way? Well, she would've crammed her key into the guy's mouth.

"Tell me, would you like to play a game?" Luxord produced a set of cards, uncaring, and unwilling to await their answer. He tossed them forward with a fluid flick of the wrist. The playing cards remained embedded in the ground beneath the trio's feet, and Nyx- being the eldest of the three, realized the technique for what it was. As quick as he could, he encapsulated the explosions in a hastily constructed reflect. It didn't block all of it, as seen by the flash of heat blowing both Suihei and Noxic off their feet, but it would do enough. That was all that mattered.

Nyx's lips fell into a frown, as memories of 'Yesterday' began to roll to the forefront of his mind. Such a curious thing, the mind. Without fail, it threw what memories the Heart left behind forward with a startling clarity. "The Organization. . . " Blades slid from between the bindings of his sleeves, a sharp silver that twinged with **Nothing**. If he noticed the construct's expression, he said nothing of it. After waiting until Suihei and Noxic dragged themselves onto their feet, Nyx darted back- falling between the heavy hitters with a brief frown crossing his shadowed features. "Were nothing but fools. Ambitious fools."

Luxord's eyes danced with a callous indifference. Amusement in a way, even as dice were rolled between his fingertips. "That isn't what I wanted to hear. But I suppose that you ; caught between a lesser Dusk, and an Ascended, would know anything about fools." His words were harsh. Nyx flinched, though from what was the question. "Your luck is running short. So shall you live or die by the roll of the dice?"

* * *

**XI**  
_Scythe of Petals_

The eleventh reflection met her in a barren hall ; akin to the ones that she'd traversed in order to get to the terminal. Like many of the others, the hooded figure stood silently, expectantly- as if waiting for her to say something. She didn't know what to say, not exactly. It was like they all had codes to start battling at the slightest sign of intrusion. As the previous entities had done before, the man drew forward a weapon from threads of darkness and **nothing** \- a dangerous, if not elegant looking scythe that vaguely resembled a lone petal attached to the gunmetal green stem of a flower.

Suihei bit down on her bottom lip, her left hand extended to call her keyblade in a flurry of light. Just in time to hastily draw it up in an attempt to defend herself. Key met scythe in a clash of sparks. Her arms shook with exertion, yet she was quick on the draw. Suihei pivoted on her heel, lashing out with a horizontal slash that she **thought** had at least put a hamper on her enemy—at least until she saw the flower petals drifting to the floor.

The scent of roses and cherry blossoms muddled the air around her; cloying her senses with a fragrant scent that caused her hazel eyes to dart around rapidly. Where did he go?!

All the while, the hooded figure drew his scythe back until Suihei was sure that it'd cut through if she budged an inch. As he leaned forward to whisper something into her ear, Suihei caught the barest hint of **pink** hair brushing across her cheek.

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**XII**

_A Savage Nymph_

Lightning bolted through the skies, and thunder roared through the air. Suihei's ears buzzed in agony, her flesh rose in goosebumps. This girl—whoever she was, she was **fast.** Almost too fast. Raising her keyblade, Suihei barely managed to swat aside a flurry of knives tossed her way from a corridor of darkness. She dashed forward and swirled around yet another bolt of lightning tossed her way.

Mocking laughter rang in her ears just as loud as the sound of thunder **cracking** the heavens asunder, but she didn't give up. She wouldn't give up!

Larxene gave another mocking giggle, darting forward to meet the young keybearer with a clone flanking her side. With knives poised to dig and rend flesh like a set of claws, the clone's hand darted forward like a bolt of lightning, screeching through the air with jagged voltage dancing between each knifetip. To the shock of the jade-eyed woman, Suihei gripped the wrist of her copy and pivoted on her heel, sending it directly towards Larxene with twice as much momentum as either could handle.

Like magnets, they were drawn back to one another. To Larxene's ire, the girl was upon her just as fast. An orange aura glimmered around Suihei's keyblade, and with a mighty swing forward, several rays of light **lurched** from the weapon with the intent of homing in on Larxene's dazed form.

**XIII**  
_Another Promise_

The final gate was a surprise in the making. Once she passed through – on her own, as she told Nox with the utmost confidence, Suihei found her resolve faltering, just for a second. Darkness, vast and stretched as far as the eye could see, completely and utterly devoured her field of vision. The only source of light that she could see was from a peculiar . . . glass mosaic—

Her eyes widened at the sight of brown hair, spiked and messy. Closed eyes painted the picture of sleeping, and around him were figures of a boy, a girl, a dog, and a duck—at least, she would've liked to believe that was a duck. "This is . . ."

"Familiar, mn?" The melancholy voice interrupted her sentence. Yes, she wanted to say. But the look on the boy in front of her, Roxas, was it? Was one of resignation? He was tired. Tired, or angry, or perhaps a bit of both—though, what he could be angry at was a question that Suihei didn't want to answer. They sat in silence for a minute, with Roxas analyzing Suihei – from the keyblade, vaguely similar to the Kingdom Key, if not more elaborate that dangled from her fingertips, to the frown that etched itself onto her features. Just where had this place taken her?

"If you want the answers you came here for. . . " Oathkeeper and Oblivion formed in his hands, much to Suihei's surprise, and with a twirl of the blades, he leapt forward. With a clang of metal and a shower of sparks, the keyblades clashed violently. Roxas was unrelenting, continuing to bring down his keyblades until Suihei felt as if her arms would become jelly.

He was aggressive in a way that had Suihei on the defensive; for he didn't only have the strength that made her arms feel as if they were going to fall off, but also the**speed**. She saw a flash of light out of the corner of her eye, and it was only a well placed dodge roll that got her towards safety. Several more beams chased after her following that. Calling on the pool of magic within her, Suihei slammed her keyblade into the ground, creating a dome of transparent hexagons that absorbed the light with considerable strain. She saw the barest sliver of light begin to slip through the cracks, so Suihei pushed the spell outwards with as much force as it accumulated.

The explosion of light and sound was deafening, yet it was far from the end. With her ears still ringing and dots still in her eyes, Suihei barely caught sight of Roxas floating several feet above her until it was nearly too late. Twin keyblades sheared through the air rapidly. Too fast. She leapt out of the way, trying not to scream out when the weapons struck into her ribcage and sent her hurtling towards the other end of the station like a ragdoll.

Roxas dropped to his feet, making a mad dash towards Suihei with both his keyblades returning to his hand in an instant. Her own had been sent plummeting into the depths of Darkness below. Fear ebbed at her stomach as his footsteps grew heavier, more rapid. The sound of air displacing caused her to squeeze her eyes tight. She couldn't bear to watch her get **beat** by a computer program, of all things.

Stopping mid-step, Roxas swung his keyblades in a downward arch, only to be surprised by Suihei's own weapon returning to her in a desperate attempt to fend for its owner.

Guided by the weight of the weapon, Suihei stabbed forward.

'Clink clink.' The sound of metal twinging against glass caused Suihei's eyes to open up. She'd somehow managed to push herself onto her feet at the last second. Somehow had managed to run forward and stab with every drop of strength that her screaming, exhausted muscles could offer.

Data whistled in her ears, and the last thing she heard before collapsing was Roxas' voice.

"So that's why . . . "

* * *

_" Long ago, in a time where Darkness invaded the realm of Light . . . "_

Flashes rang through her head. Heartless. A beached world. Stars blinking out rapidly.

A promise kept. And another, unkept.

_"There was a boy- as normal as you and I."_

Brown hair, defying the very forces of gravity itself. Bright blue eyes that spoke of incredible friendliness.

_"This boy, though from ordinary origins. Had a heart filled with compassion like no other. For his friends, he would give everything. "_

An odd, dark keyblade hit the ground with a clang, and the boy was falling. Two hearts floated from his body – one into the heavens, and one into an unconscious girl. The girl awoke, running forward in an attempt to embrace the boy before his body disappeared completely.

_"Yet even after he saved the Worlds, not once- but several times, sealing away the realm of Light from that of Darkness, Humans began to fear for their future. For what would happen to them without their savior, once his life was forfeit?"_

A group of people in white coats, scientists perhaps, stood in front of several test-tubes. Light glimmered from the confines of a casket. Barely contained by the wreathing shadows at their feet. She could just barely make out the features of the men, though it seemed as if he was muttering something to his colleague.

_"So, they took matters into their own hands. The heirs of their saviors, chosen through a rite of succession, knew not, what light would breed. "_

Images and data continued to flash. Several more scenes, though muddled by time, continued to flash into her head until Suihei felt as if it would crack in half. Worlds crystallizing, flashes of light searing through the air. The taste of blood on her tongue came only from her teeth digging into the flesh too hard. And when her eyes opened, she gasped at the sight. Crystal spires rose into the heavens, causing the earth to fall brittle.

The fact that this was something that the Light had done. . .

_"They called them the Soulless. The inverse of a Heartless, born from artificial light instead of the deepest darkness."_

_Several more images. The scientists arguing about what they should do—who should they entrust with what. Jealousy and envy formed amongst their ranks, and with that, came darkness- with this darkness, came the Judgment of their own creations. Merciless._

_"The people, fearing for their lives, turned to the heirs of the Key to save them. The subsequent war met an unfortunate end. And the World, once restored through the Kindness of a young man's Heart, found itself shattered once more by the folly of man._

_It was only through his heir, and the heirs of his friends, that the Soulless managed to be stopped._

_And it was with his dying breath, that the heir of the skies managed to isolate the Soulless from the new Worlds. "_

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**The next chapter will be wrapping this up by going in descending order from Saix to Xemnas. This was primarily to practice dialogue and action, so tell me how I did on it! :o Originally, I was going to do about a thousand words for each match-up, but when I had written this I think my brain had just turned into mush..**

**Axel gets the most action, and Luxord has the most dialogue. I think that it's actually pretty weak when it comes to Larxene and Marluxia though. They'll get a proper send-off shortly. **

**I'll definitely be revisiting this in the near future.**


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